Improvement in portable steam-engines



2 Sheets-Sheet t.

W. BAXTER.v Portable Stga'm-Engine.

N50. 207,237- Y Patented Aug.'2o,1s7 8.

10.207,237. Patented Aug. 20,1878.

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NTTEED TATEs PATENT CFFTGE.

WILLIAM BAXTER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TOABRAHAM VAN WINKLE, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN PORTABLE STEAM-ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 207,237, dated. August20, 1878; application filed November 22, 1877.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM BAXTER, of Newark, Essex county, New Jersey,have invented an Improvement in Portable Engines, of which the followingis a specification:

My invention relates to that class of portable engines in which thecylinder and crankshaft of the engine are attached directly to theboiler without framing of any kind 5 and my improvements consist inconstructing the boiler in such a manner that the ily-wheel shaft may besecured to the boiler across its middle and very low down, therebysecuring symmetry of design with the utmost stabilit under rapid motion.

In my specification I give a full, clear, and

.exact description of the same, referring to the annexed drawings, inwhich- Figure lis a front view of an engine and boiler; Fig. 2, a sideview of the engine and avertical section of my columnar boiler. Figs. 3and 4 are horizontal sections ofthe columns used to unite the sectionsof my columnar boiler.

This boiler consists of upper and lower sections, cylindrical in plan,and united by two or more pipes or hollow columns, secured between thesections. Figs. l and 2 show a castiron boiler thus made, the uppersection, A, being cast with ilat heads, into the lower of which thecolumns O open, forming a connection between the two sections A and B.The lower section, B, is also hollow, and is cast witha water-spacebetween two metal surfaces, at its top, and around its wholecircumference, the interior of the water-space forming afurnace-chamber, in one side of which is an aperture for a door, andprovidedl at the bottom with a dumping-grate of any desired pattern, andpan to withdraw ashes.

The grate and boiler both rest on an ashbox base, constructed to supportthe boiler and the pivots of the grate, and open at one side to removethe ashes.

In the gures, the parts are lettered as follows: A, top section; A',steam-chamber; B, bottom section, B', furnace-chamber, C, columns; C',space inside columns; D, base; D', ash-pitin base; E, grate;F,furnacedoor; G, water-space about furnace or ilues.

In each of the columns a flue is inserted, and

secured to the top of section A and to the crown of the furnace,perforating each in the manner usual to flue-boilers, and providing anoutlet from Vthe furnace for the gases generated in it.

The water is carried Ain the boiler so as to fill the spaces about thefurnace, the space between each of the iiues and its surrounding column,and to stand part of the way up in section A. The steamv is taken fromthis section by a central opening, I, on top, into abellshapedsuperheater, H, the base of which is expanded enough to extend over theupper ends of the ilues J and receive the heat in its passage to thechimney.

The superheater is tapered upward at the top, conforming nearly to theshape of a dome-casting, K, fitted upon the top of the boiler, andconfining the gases Vin contact with the superheater until they pass outof the top into the chimney L.

Steam for the engine is taken from the superheater by pipeV m, and,after passing through the governor M, enters the steam-chest N on theside of the engine-cylinder O which is bolted to section A. Thiscylinder is inverted, the piston-rod passing out of the bottom, andbeing connected by a link, a, to the crank b and wheel-shaft o, which iscarried by bearings d d, secured upon the top of seotion B. Whatevernumber of columns C is employed, the shaft passes through the spacebetween them, and has its fly-wheel or drivingpulley keyed, preferably,upon the opposite end.

In the engines, in operation, no inconvenience has resulted from theheat passing from the water inside the section B to the bearings d d,and the extreme rigidity of the cylindrical section makes them quitetrue and hrm in position. This location of the crank-shaft ren` ders thewhole structure very steady, as the weight of the shaft and ily-wheel isbrought as low as it can be placed without penetrating the furnace, thusenabling the engine to be run quietly at a great speed, being perfectlybalanced on all sides.

I am aware that portable engines have'been made with the shaft locatedlow down, but outside the shell of the boiler, and in other casesthrough the smokebox on the top;

but I consider my arrangement preferable to the former in carrying thecrank-shaft across the middle of the boiler, and to the latter inkeeping the weight and momentum of the moving parts at the lowestpossible point above the lire-box.

It is evident that another arrangement may be made to afford the samepassage low down across the boiler for the crank-shaft of the engine.The boiler may be of the ordinary upright tubular kind, with a pipeinserted transversely through its body, just above the fireboX; or itmay be of sections, like those just described, and united by twosemi-cylindrical or segmental-shaped columns, as shown in plan in Fig.4. Inside these columns flues J would pass, as before described, and, infact, the same Fig. 4 would represent the upright tubular boilerdescribed above, the space between the columns C C answering fexactly tothe pipe specified for such a boiler, if the same were shown in section.

The valve of the engine is constructed to oscillate in a steam-chest onthe side of the cylinder, and rocked in its seat by a connection, c, toa lever hinged at its lower end, and constructed to embrace aneccentric, j', behind the main crank and disk b.

The hinged joint g is connected to theplun ger of a force-pump, l, whichserves as a guide for the lower end of lever h, and enables theeccentric to work the pump at the same time that it.

operates valve t'.

From the above description it will be seen that the engine and boiler,as described, constitute an exceedingly cheap, simple, and dura-- blegenerator of power.

The engine is attached to the boiler, so as to run steadily at anydesired speed, the center of gravity being kept as low as can be securedwhen the shaft of the engine is attached solely to the boiler.

The continuous motion of the pump is usual on all engines when the pumpis worked from the cross-head, the supply of water being controlled by asuitable feed-cock on the suctionpipe.

In Fig. l, Z is the pump; n n, the check-valves attached to it; p, thesuction-pipe, and r the blow-off in the water-space G. S S S aregagecocks to regulate the height of water in section A. A safety-valveand other appliances are also provided, and the whole arrangement issuch that the combined engine and boiler takes the least possible space,exposing no highly-heated surfaces to radiation, and capable of beingprotected (below the dome) either with a felt cover or somenon-conducting application.

The advantages claimed above can be secured by the employment of anupright tubular boiler, with transverse tube through the body for theshaft of the engine; but the cost of such a boiler is much greater thanthe co1- umnar boiler described above, especially if the latter is castallin one piece, as I have done when great cheapness was required.

Three columns, or any number, can be used, as their size can be sodesigned that the shaft will pass between them, and the desiredadvantages secured.

When made of wrought-iron, the columns can be screwed 'by right and leftthreads into the two sections, or ianged and riveted at the ends. Evenif the driving-wheel is not placed at the side opposite the engine, itis a great advantageto locate the weight of the shaft, wheel, &c., atthe middle ofthe boiler.

The driving of the pump by the same eccentric that works the valve isquite an economic point in construction, as is also the arrangement ofthe valve z' with its smaller end toward the boiler, so that its lever uis inside the main link a and crank-disk b, and has its connection ebehind the disk. If outside the disk b, areturn-crank would have to beused to drive the valve t', or some indirect connection, thus preventingthe casting together in one piece ot' the crank-disk b, eccentric f, andgovernorl pulley c, which is much the simplest construction possible.

The governor M is so adjusted on the chest N that the governor-belt fcclears all the parts of the valve-motion, as well as the rib w, by whichthe cylinder is secured to the boiler.

I am aware that boilers of various kinds have been made in sections, andalso of castiron, as well as boilers with steam-engines attacheddirectly to them, and I do not therefore claim such modes ofconstruction, broadly 5 but,

Having specified the various points I have improved, I hereby claim asfollows l. The cast-iron boiler for portable steamengines, constructedwith sections A and B and two or more columns, C C, all in one piece,combined with the cylinder and crank-bearings of the engines, in themanner herein described.

2. The combination and arrangement, in an inverted-cylinderportablesteam-en gine, of the boiler, constructed with sections A and B andcolumns C C, secured thereto, and fiues J J, passing through thecolumns, with the cylinder O and crank-bearings ot' the engine, securedthereto in the manner described.

3. The combination and arrangement, in an inverted-cylinder portablesteam-en gine, of the cylinder O, crank-shaft c, and upright boiler,with opening across its middle for the passage of the crank-shaft c,substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

Dated November 16, 187 7.

IVM. BAXTER.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. BoDliNscHA'rz, THos. S. CRANE.

VII,

